Relatives Tell Cecilia Her Parents, Brother Died In Crash

August 26, 1987|By United Press International

ROMULUS, MICH. — More than a week after the nation's second-worst air disaster, the lone survivor -- 4-year-old Cecilia Cichan -- was told her parents and brother died in the crash of Northwest Airlines Flight 255, a hospital spokeswoman said Tuesday.

''The relatives have told her about her parents' death,'' University of Michigan Medical Center spokeswoman Toni Shears said. ''We do not know when and we do not know how she responded to it.''

Cecilia had not been told as of Monday afternoon. Relatives, who had not been sure how to break the news and had consulted with experts, could not be reached for comment.

Cecilia, suffering from broken bones and burns over 30 percent of her body, remained in serious condition at the hospital's burn unit.

Hospital officials said that Cecilia had in recent days asked about her mother and father, unaware that they and her 6-year-old brother were among the 156 killed on Flight 255, which crashed on Middlebelt Road seconds after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport on Aug. 16.

A relative said Monday that Cecilia, who was pulled from the wreckage unconscious and critically burned, was getting ''feisty.''

''She's getting feisty, she's starting to get a little demanding and she really enjoys having her book read to her,'' said David Cichan, Cecilia's uncle.

The children's book Cloudy, With a Chance of Meatballs, a story of a town where food rains from the skies, has been read repeatedly to the girl by nurses and relatives.

Cecilia has been sent more than $30,000 and numerous toys and other gifts since surviving the crash and becoming known as the ''miracle girl.''

Shears said that Monday she got a stuffed bear 4.5 to 5 feet tall. ''It was mailed in a refrigerator box.''

Meanwhile, a Northwest Airlines DC-9, identical to the one that crashed Aug. 16, aborted a takeoff from the same runway Tuesday, authorities said. Passengers bound for White Plains, N.Y., said they were told of an engine problem and returned to the terminal.

In Washington Tuesday, federal investigators discounted a report saying preliminary evidence indicated the crew of the crashed flight deliberately pulled a circuit breaker to silence an alarm system that could have indicated the wing flaps were set in an improper position for takeoff.

Meanwhile, San Francisco attorney Melvin Belli said Monday he planned to file at least 10 lawsuits in Detroit and Phoenix within a few days on behalf of relatives of those killed in the crash.